Look Away
by laney1974
Summary: Charlie Swan's a simple man and knows the true value of ignorance.


**Warnings**: Death of a non-main and evil character kinda off screen.

**Disclaimer:** Stephenie Meyers owns Twilight. JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.

**A/N**: This was written for the LJ xover_exchange group about a month ago based on certain prompts and fandoms. There really is nothing remarkable about this fic, it's just a bit of fun actually. I'll be honest when I say that I don't think I'll be writing any sequels, although I have great love for Charlie so you never know.

**Timeline:** I am sticking with canon timelines (books only) specifically for dates. This fic takes place a couple of years after Eclipse (in the year 2009) therefore all HP characters are adults. Wildly AU for Twilight after Eclipse. AU after Order of the Phoenix for HP.

A massive thank you to Demona for coming to the beta-rescue!

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The call comes in the middle of the nightshift. It's an anonymous tip off from someone who sounds a little like Alice Cullen. The caller rings to tell him about a crime that's about to take place. A family, living on the outskirts of town, is going to be attacked. At first, Charlie thinks the call is a joke because not only does she tell him what's going to happen, but she tells him exactly what he needs to do to stop it.

The call doesn't sit right with Charlie. The details are too precise and the call came through his cell and not through official police lines. He thinks about maybe going on his own to check out the scene, but for some reason he decides to take the caller at her word. He can't risk ignoring this call, not if lives are at stake.

So, he rounds up everyone on duty and they head to the address.

ooOOoo

When they get there, Charlie begins to suspect he's right and it is a joke. It's quiet outside and he can't see or hear anything out of the ordinary. It's only when he notices just how quiet it is that he starts to wonder. The hairs on the back on his neck stand up and he's beginning to think that there's something wrong here.

It's at that moment he hears raised voices from the house. It's quiet enough that Charlie can hear the words clearly. Someone in the house is looking for something and demanding the family to tell him where it is.

Charlie signals for his five men to move.

ooOOoo

It begins exactly the way the caller described; the only difference is that Charlie trips over something in the backyard, so he's the last person to reach the house.

He makes his way inside in time to see the family he was told about, cowering in the corner of the living room, and his four officers standing in front of a man dressed in what looks like a Halloween costume. His men are telling the perpetrator to freeze, all four have their guns drawn, but their weapons and their demands for him to stop don't seem to have any impact. All he does is laugh.

What happens after that is something Charlie's not sure he understands, or even wants to. He's standing behind the perpetrator, so from his vantage point he can't see all that much. All he knows is that the guy has some sort of weapon pointed at his men and the family. Charlie's men don't seem all that threatened by it, but the family is still terrified. Whatever weapon it is, he points it at the officers and shouts something Charlie doesn't understand. In the next instant there's a flash of green and one of them is dead.

Charlie doesn't even shout a warning before he fires the fatal shot.

ooOOoo

The days that follow are confusing for all involved. The man he killed just a few days ago is a ghost, no one. The family he attacked claims not to know who he is and his prints and photo aren't in any of the databases. Charlie's even tried searching for any criminals matching his description, but there's no matches for a man in his forties with pale blonde hair, gray eyes, and a snake tattoo on his arm.

The fact that he can't find any information bothers him more than it should, as does the fact that the only weapon they found on the man was a stick.

Even his own officers don't seem to know what happened and the look in their eyes makes Charlie almost not want to ask. He's still not sure what he saw himself and he hasn't forced himself to look to closely at it. He's seen some weird things in Forks and La Push over the years and he's looked the other way more than once. As long as no one is getting hurt or breaking the law, he's happy to ignore the weird stuff.

He knows that what happened a few days ago is something he should look away from, but the fact that he killed and lost one of his own makes it difficult to do so. He feels like it's a betrayal if he doesn't seek the truth.

As it is, he feels a little guilty that he's relieved that the entire investigation has hit a brick wall.

ooOOoo

It's five days later when they start arriving, four of them all together. They flash their badges and claim they're from a branch of the FBI. Charlie's not sure why he doesn't quite believe their story. He's only ever worked with the Feds a few times and, well, they're usually a little smoother than these people... and they never have had this much power.

When Charlie called his superiors to check their credentials, he was told they had carte blanch. Whatever they want, they get.

For some reason they wanted Charlie.

ooOOoo

He fights like hell, but he has no choice but to leave with the four FBI agents. They don't tell him where he's going or what he's doing, just that it's safer for him to be in their protection for a while.

It turns out that the man he shot was part of some terrorist group in England. Beyond that, Charlie has no more information... and he has no choice.

ooOOoo

Charlie has no idea where he is. They've been travelling for a couple of days now, only stopping for bathroom breaks. The way in which they're driving makes Charlie thinks that they're on the run from someone, and after having nothing but time to think he's concluded that that's probably exactly what's happening. After all, there were five officers involved that night and only one of them pulled a trigger.

"They're after me, aren't they?" he asks. It all makes sense now. In fact, he's surprised he didn't put it together earlier.

The agent driving looks at him in the rear vision mirror. "What was that, Chief Swan?" he asks, even though they all know he heard the question.

"That group, the man I killed belonged to, they're after me. Aren't they?"

The silence that greets his question gives him the answer that he needs.

"It wouldn't take too much effort for them to find me," he muses. Forks is a small town that seems to thrive on gossip at times. All the group would have to do is ask one or two questions and they would have their information. "So, where are you taking me? A safe house?"

The agent glances at him again. "Not a safe house, exactly, but to people who can protect you."

"The FBI can't protect me?" he asks, frowning.

"Not like they can."

ooOOoo

Three hours after his realisation Charlie finds himself stretching his legs at a Road House. He's tired, exhausted really, and he's sick of seeing nothing but asphalt.

He's leaning against the car when one of the agents approaches him, holding a cup of coffee. That in and of itself isn't all that unusual, but the smile he's giving Charlie is. "Thought you might need a pick me up, Chief Swan."

Charlie frowns. The gesture is even more unusual than the smile. Still, he's spent the last week and a half with them in the car, so maybe they're thawing a little. "Thanks."

He takes a drink of the coffee and the last thing he remembers before he blacks out is thinking how good the coffee tastes.

ooOOoo

Charlie Swan has been a Police Chief for a hell of a long time, and he's been a cop all his life, so he knows that being a cop is nothing like they make it seem on TV. There are hours and hours of paperwork, there are nights where the boredom is so bad that you'll do anything to pass the time, and then there are the nights where you wish parents would keep a better eye on their kids.

In all his twenty years, Charlie Swan has not once woken up in an unfamiliar bedroom after being drugged. In fact, he's had more excitement in the last twenty days than he has in the last twenty years.

Still, despite his boring life, he doesn't panic when he finally comes to. For one, there's really no reason to panic as far as he can tell. Obviously the 'Feds' protecting him drugged him. He's not sure why, but he's not bound in any way and he feels fine. In fact, he's comfortable.

It takes him a bit of effort, but eventually he sits up and looks around the room. There are no lights on, but the afternoon sun is seeping through the blinds enough to allow him to see clearly. There's nothing particularly interesting about the room... except for the blonde woman sitting next to his bed.

Charlie estimates her age to be in her late twenties, maybe early thirties, and finds it a little difficult to look away from her eyes. It unnerves him a little that she doesn't blink all that much. Neither of them say anything for a while; they simply stare at each other. Charlie's not sure how long it is before she speaks.

"I quite like the company of wolves, too, you know," she says.

He blinks. "That's, um, great."

She tilts her head to the side and studies him. She pauses for a moment before she smiles. "I'm Luna."

"Charlie Swan." He pauses. "Where am I?"

"At Headquarters," she tells him, as though that explains everything. "The others will be happy to see you awake. They're curious about the muggle who killed Lucius Malfoy."

His sits up a little more at her words. "Lucius Malfoy? That's the man I shot?"

She nods. "It's been a long time since a muggle killed a powerful wizard."

Charlie leans back down against his pillow and silently wonders if he's still asleep. "Muggle? _Powerful wizard_? "

She nods. "I tried telling them that a pixie helped you, but I don't think they believed me."

He freezes at her words. He remembers a time, back before his daughter Bella married Edward Cullen, when he overheard her and Edward talking about Alice. Charlie remembers being rather amused hearing Edward refer to Alice as a pixie. He wonders if it's just a coincidence.

"Some pixies can see the future, you know."

Charlie can't help but grimace at her words because, to be honest, he doesn't want to know. Especially now that he's noticed that there's something odd about the room. It looks nothing like the rooms he's used to seeing. Oh, it has a bed, but there are no lamps, no light switches and he doesn't see any sort of technology whatsoever.

Charlie wishes more than anything that he could look the other way and pretend he wasn't seeing any of this, but he can't... Not when Luna takes out a stick, just like the one they found on Lucius Malfoy, and lights every candle in the room with a swish and a simple incantation.

Slowly, she stands. "I'm sorry that you can't go home for a while. The Death Eaters aren't very happy with you. Harry was worried that a lot of innocent people would be killed while they hunted you, so it's safer for you to be here with us for a while."

He nods and begins to stand himself. He can hear others in the house and he wants to meet them. There's not much else to do.

It's far too late for him to look away.

**END**


End file.
